Waterbending
by tanikara kohitsuji
Summary: Once upon a time, a king held a contest to decide his heir. Meanwhile, a waterbender discovers that sometimes things don't go the way you planned. When Katara crosses paths with Prince Zuko, what will happen? *based on fairy tale "Puddocky"*
1. Prologue

Prologue

Once upon a time, there was a couple. They were not in their homeland though. The couple was of the Water Tribe but their home was in the Fire Nation. The woman was with child and was due soon.

The woman had her child, a son. Delighted, they named him Sokka. A year and a half later, the woman became pregnant again. This time she had a daughter. The daughter was beautiful. Her beautiful cerulean eyes were bright and alert. Her dark brown hair was downy and her soft brown skin was smooth. They named the girl Katara.

When Katara was three, they discovered she was a Waterbender. However, the family had no well on their property. Their neighbor, the witch Jun, had a well however. Katara climbed over the wall between their houses every day in order to practice waterbending. However, one day, Jun looked out of her window and saw Katara. Jun then demanded Katara. Her parents' pleas fell on deaf ears. It was Katara or their entire family's death. So the parents wept as Jun bid them goodbye. Jun then spirited herself and Katara farther into the Fire Nation, into its very heart.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Katara sat up slowly. Jun burst in with a cake. Sixteen candles flickered around the rim.

"Happy birthday, Katara!" Jun grinned.

"Good morning, Aunt Jun," Katara smiled. With a water whip, she doused the flames.

"Well, today's your special day, Kat," Jun said as she magically lifted a perfect slice from the cake to a plate. "What do you want to do?"

"Relax at home," Katara joked.

"Oh, come on! Don't you want to do something? You're young. You're pretty. Go out and get a boyfriend!" Jun exclaimed as she hustled Katara out of bed. "Now get ready!"

Jun skipped downstairs. "Now first we'll go to the palace gardens. And then—"

Katara stretched. "Mmm," she groaned. "I'm sixteen. Something bad will happen today though," she whispered. She crossed the room to her window and flung it open.

"What a beautiful day," she spoke softly. She shook her hair. "Time to get ready," she breathed. She grabbed her brush and began to run it through her hair as she stood at the open window. A few minutes later, she set it down and began to braid her hair. She hummed softly.

"Really, Zuko, you're being ridiculous!" Jet told his younger brother as they rode. "She's our friend."

"But I don't care for her," Zuko protested.

"So you're telling me that the time you carried Hana into the palace when she bruised her knee, you did it because you despised her," Jet chuckled.

"I care for her, just…not…in that way," Zuko said reluctantly.

"Well, that's just the way life is sometimes," Aang told his brothers.

"Y ahora me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir.

Entre tus papeles descubrí, una carta,  
solo en líneas apretadas, frases sin razón.  
Dices que el motivo fue la falta de aire,  
si siempre te dejé ser libre, sin una condición," Katara's lovely voice reached the three princes' ears.

"What?"

"Did you?"

"There!"

The three brothers looked up at the same time and spotted Katara braiding her dark hair.

"She's mine!" the three shouted at the same time.

"She'll be my bride," Aang said, drawing his sword.

"Not if I propose first," Zuko growled, as he drew his sword.

"Your blood will drip from my blade if you approach her," Jet threatened.

"So, it is a duel to the death," Aang grinned.

"Last one standing receives the fair maiden's hand in marriage," Zuko agreed.

The discordant melody of blades meeting interrupted Katara's song.

"What is going on?" she whispered as she strained to look down the street.

"What is that racket?" Jun frowned. She leaned out the door.

"You wish she was your soul mate," Aang shouted at Jet. "That girl will be my wife."

"Ha!" Jet answered. "The girl in that window is mine! I claimed her!"

Jun followed their conversation and gathered that they spoke of Katara. No one else had a daughter that was still in her parents' house on this street. "That girl," Jun fumed. "I told her to get one boyfriend, not THREE!" Jun raced up the stairs with ever increasing wrath. "KATARA!"

Katara turned from the window as Jun entered the bedroom. Her blue eyes went wide with fear when she saw Jun's face.

"Be gone, toad!" Jun shrieked. She struck Katara with her magic. Katara became a small brown toad.

"She's gone!" Zuko shouted.

"What?" Aang and Jet chorused. Their heads whipped toward the window.

"Perhaps she was a figment of our imaginations," Aang ventured slowly.

"Yes," Jet agreed. "Truce?"

"Truce," the brothers agreed. They mounted and set off again.

Upstairs, Jun's chest heaved. "Begone!" Katara vanished.

A/N: the song is called Me Muero de Amor. don't ask me what it's saying. I have no clue. (my brother refused to translate for me.) I chose it because it sounds pretty. The title means something like the death of my love.

Don't you love how the princes get over Katara so easily?

Please review. I appreciate it.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Katara woke by a forsaken creek. Actually, at a second glance, it was more of a swamp. "Ugh, what happened?" she asked. "Aaah!" she gasped. Her voice was slightly gravelly now. "JUUUN!" Katara cried angrily. "How dare you!" She felt like crying. How could things have gone so wrong? Jun would regret this soon enough. Maybe. Hopefully.

"My sons, come here," Lord Ozai beckoned his sons near. Jet, Zuko, and Aang came closer. "I am growing old and will soon retire (or die). However, I cannot decide which of you shall be my heir. So I'll hold a contest. There are three parts. Whoever performs best wins. First, go and fetch some linen a hundred yards long that will fit through my signet ring."

"Yes, Father," the three princes replied and set out on their journey.

Katara sighed. "I wish I could bend," she croaked. "I miss it so." She gestured with her webbed hands as if she were bending. Some of the stream rose and followed her motions.

"Oh!" Katara gasped. "I can still bend! I wonder what else I can do! Maybe I can do magic! Okay, let's see. Hocus pocus, magicus startus—No, that won't do! I wish I had…hmm, what do I want? Oh, I wish I had a ribbon!"

Creek. Creek. A cricket chirped.

"Okay. Not the right words. What did Jun always do when she did magic? Well, she usually just seemed to shift her gaze. Inside, through, and on. She didn't say anything," Katara beamed. "That's it! No words, just thoughts." She closed her eyes.

After an hour, Katara had an assorted number of objects. However, try as she might, she could not turn herself back into a human. "This stinks! I guess I'll never be a girl again. This stinks."

_I wonder where that girl is,_ Zuko wondered as he rode his komodo rhino. _I wonder if Aang and Jet remember her too. I wonder if I can win this competition. Probably no—_

"Whoa!" Jet halted his carriage with a word. Aang and Zuko did the same. Before the three princes, the road split in three directions. Two were well traveled and free of vegetation on the path. The last road, if one could call it that, was so overgrown with weeds and shrubs that it was more like a deer's trail.

"Where do you want to go?" Jet asked his two brothers.

"I'll take the middle path," Aang said and motioned his driver to continue straight. Aang's entourage followed him.

"I'll go to the left," Jet told Zuko and headed down his road with carriages strung out behind him.

"I guess I'll take this one," Zuko whispered gloomily. He stared at the overgrown path. "Yay."

After hours of riding, Zuko's butt was screaming for a break. Zuko pulled up beside a swampy creek and dismounted. As the sun moved towards the horizon, Zuko realized he may end up spending his night here. He walked around, setting up camp. Then, exhausted, he collapsed to the ground and sighed. "What's the point?" Zuko asked his sleeping mount. "Jet and Aang will get the linen and the other two tasks too. I'm just the pathetic middle son. I'm not even a very talented bender. I'm a loser. And you don't care," Zuko sighed as he noticed his mount was asleep.

"What's your problem, sir?"

Zuko whipped his head around at the sound of a gravelly feminine voice. Where was the wench?

"Umm, down here," the voice said.

Zuko looked down to see a small brown toad at his feet. "Waah!" Zuko screamed in a very unmanly way as he stumbled back.

"Hey! Watch it!" Katara shouted as she hopped away quickly. "You almost squished me!"

"Sorry," Zuko apologized.

"Tell me your problem. Maybe I can help you with it," Katara suggested as Zuko sat down again.

"You couldn't help me, toad, even if I did," Zuko told her.

"Tell me. You never know. And my name is Katara," Katara frowned.

"Well, you see, my father, the king, has given my brothers and me a challenge to determine his heir. We must find a hundred yards of linen that will fit through his signet ring."

"Hmm. Linen, eh?" Katara mulled. "Wait here." Katara dove into the water and swam to the bottom. _Linen. Linen that will help the prince._ The linen appeared before her. It wasn't big enough but she trusted her magic. She grabbed the cloth and swam to the surface. Katara laid it before Zuko. "Take this to your father and it will help you."

"Thank…you," Zuko said carefully. He kept his face straight with great effort. The linen the to—Katara—had given him was no bigger than his finger. He took the linen and placed it in his pocket.

"Good night," Katara said and disappeared into the swamp.

Zuko stood and went to bed.

Meanwhile, Aang and Jet were buying out all the linen in all the towns within sixty miles of the castle. They had some discretion but not much. By the time they turned towards home, bolts of cloth poked out of carriage windows. In their wakes, the peasants chuckled and smiled at their dear king's sense of humor.

The next morning, Zuko left the stream without looking for Katara. He didn't think he could be kind a second time and not laugh again at the prospect of a toad's handkerchief winning him the contest.

Katara watched him leave. "I've seen him before," she whispered. "Oh well, I'll remember eventually. I need to stay in practice." She motioned to the water. "Come on."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"There must be rational explanation to all this," Zuko told himself aloud. "Toads don't talk or own linen. I could have dreamed it all." He checked his pocket. The linen was still there. "So it wasn't a dream. Perhaps it was a hallucination from the water! But that still doesn't explain the linen." He took out the square of linen. Were his eyes deceiving him or was it the size of his palm now? He shook his head. "It must have been folded up." But in the back of his mind, Zuko knew it was magic. That toad had known what she was doing.

* * *

It took Zuko the rest of the day to get back to the palace. By then he had had to take the linen from the toad from his pocket and place it in his saddlebag.

"Prince Zuko, you're back!" the stable boy greeted Zuko as he took the komodo rhino's bridle. "Your brothers have not returned yet."

"Thank you," Zuko said politely as he left. After the obligatory greeting with his father, Zuko went out into the gardens. He sat down on a bench near an artificial pond. He watched the fish swim around in lazy circles. He let his mind wander. It immediately went to that mystery girl he and his brothers had argued over just a few days ago. He closed his eyes. Light brown skin, dark brown hair. Waterbender probably, so her eyes were blue. What shade though? The deep blue of the ocean? Or perhaps they were the blue-gray color of stone's shadow. Or maybe they were the color of the summer sky. Who was she? Where had she gone? Why couldn't he forget her?

"Prince Zuko, your brothers have returned. Your father requests your presence at the trials," a servant relayed to Zuko.

Zuko entered the court and wanted to hide in embarrassment. His brothers each had at least twenty lengths of linen. The king took off his signet ring and began to try to pull the linen through the ring. None of Jet's or Aang's linen could slide through. Fine though their linen be, not even ten yards of their cloth could fit through the ring. Zuko's length of linen from the toad Katara slid through with great ease. The court marveled over it for the piece of cloth was so fine that one could not see the threads.

"Congratulations, Zuko, my son," the king stood and clapped Zuko on the back. "You passed the first test with flying colors. Throw the other bolts of linen in the river. Now, my sons, get some rest before you set off on your next journey. I want you to find a dog that can fit inside a walnut easily."

Zuko groaned inwardly. He had no idea there _was_ such a dog.

* * *

Katara sat daydreaming on the bank of her stream. "I wonder where that prince is. Where have I seen him?" Katara dwelled on this thinking. She had seen him recently, she knew that much. Then it struck her. "The boys fighting in the street! He was one of them! Man, how odd. You'd think a prince would have better things to do with his time than have a brawl with his brothers."

She beckoned to the water and began playing with it using her bending. She drew some more water up and began to shape a person. She intended for it to be herself but she got distracted partway through with thoughts of the prince. When she looked at her water person, she saw the prince standing before her. "I wonder where he got that scar," she whispered. "Maybe he was burned in a battle. Heroically, he jumped in to save a comrade from a flame and--!" Katara shook her head. "Stupid! You're being a romantic. It was most likely some stupid little accident…but still. I wonder…"

* * *

Zuko slept well that night and set out in the morning. He didn't even bother with the other routes. He went straight to the overgrown path. He had dreamed of the toad last night. He had dreamed that she was playing with a dog so tiny it was smaller than she was. Somehow, he knew she would have the dog he was looking for. He didn't doubt she could find the dog. After all, even her dismal little piece of linen had proved itself next to the other pieces.

Zuko reached the creek after two days, having taken his time. He sat down on the bank and was about to sigh when the toad showed up.

"What's wrong, my prince?" the toad asked.

Zuko told her of the challenge this time.

"A dog that will fit inside a walnut, eh?" Katara murmured. "All I've got to say is your father might be a little crazy." She waddled off to the swamp. Plunging into the water, Katara concentrated. _A dog that will fit in a hazelnut._ Seeing her hazelnut float to the top, Katara swam up and returned to Zuko with the nut.

"Tell your father to carefully crack this nut and then just let things unfold as they may," Katara told Zuko.

"Thank you," Zuko said, taking the nut. He looked in the toad's eyes. They were the blue of the summer sky. He had a strange feeling he knew her from somewhere. "Have I met you before these quests?" he asked, feeling stupid and cheap.

"Perhaps," Katara replied mysteriously before disappearing.

Zuko stared after her. He finally stirred and set up his camp. After eating, he went to bed.

It must have been only a few hours since he fell asleep when Zuko awoke. What had woken him? Then he heard it. A sweet voice singing a familiar song.

**

* * *

A/N: Who in the world is singing? Who could it be? Ah, the suspense is killing me! And I know what's going to happen next! (Not like you readers. Should I be looking out for people in ski masks with rocket launchers?)**

Disclaimer: I don't own many things in life besides my art, my writing, and my body. Among the many things I do not own are _Avatar_ and _Puddocky_.

Read and review please!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Zuko leaped to his feet as he recognized the voice. It was that girl! The one in the window! He whipped his head around scanning the landscape for her.

"Te marchaste sin palabras, cerrando la puerta,  
justo cuando te pedía, un poco más.  
El miedo te alejó del nido, sin una respuesta,  
dejando un corazón herido, dejándome atrás.

Y ahora me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir," the notes hung in the air, lingering on after the voice ceased.

"Excuse me," Zuko called. "Who's out there?"

He received no reply. Well unless one called more singing a reply.

"Entre tus papeles descubrí, una carta,  
solo en líneas apretadas, frases sin razón.  
Dices que el motivo fue la falta de aire,  
si siempre te dejé ser libre, sin una condición.

Y ahora me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir.

Dime que no es verdad, que voy a despertar,  
cerca de tu piel, igual que hasta ayer.

Porque me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir," the voice finished quietly.

"I just want to talk to you," Zuko began again as he headed towards the swamp. The girl seemed to be in there. He pushed aside the tall grass and began to slosh through the water.

"You won't find her," a voice said.

"Whoa!" Zuko stumbled back to see Katara at his feet. He realized what she had said. "What do you mean I won't find her?" Was it just him or did the toad look very sad suddenly.

"It's a ghost of memories," she replied. "The girl isn't here. She's gone. But the swamp remembers her. So the memories build until every once in a while, one can hear the girl's song."

"I know her voice though," Zuko protested.

"I never said she was dead," Katara replied. "She just isn't the same now. She still lives near the swamp. She doesn't look the same. She's changed."

"Please, take me to her!" Zuko pleaded.

Katara flinched. She hadn't expected this. Zuko's amber eyes seemed to glow with determination and fire. "No."

"What?" he gaped. "Why not?"

"She doesn't want anyone to know what she looks like now. If you knew her before, you're better off remembering her as she was. You're better off cherishing the memories you have of her while she was still innocent," Katara hopped away. "You better go back to sleep, my prince. You will need it for the ride back to the castle."

Zuko's shoulders slumped and he head back to his camp. He glanced over his shoulder once.

* * *

Katara watched him from her hiding place. She wouldn't deny she loved him. But she didn't want him to know she was the girl in the window. She was just an ugly toad now. He would never love someone as hideous as she was now. She had wanted to tell him. That's why she had sung the song. But when he came, she couldn't do it. Be it because of the spell or fear, she chickened out. So she had lied to him. Well, not exactly lied. They were really just veiled truths. Riddles, when one thought about it. Katara wished she could cry because she really needed to right now.**

* * *

A/N: Now I'm gonna cry! (Screwy expression from holding in tears. Waaaaaaah!)**

If anyone knows the translation to that song, you are welcome to tell me. I just put it in because it sounds pretty. My brother is evil and won't translate it for me. Despite the fact that it's Spanish and he took two years of the language.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Zuko left the next morning. Katara watched him leave and wanted to scream. How had things gone from being so wonderful to so horrible?

* * *

Zuko rode home and thought about the toad. Katara had looked so sad when she told him about the girl. Why? Had she been friends with the girl and had been hurt by her rejection? Or--dare he think it?--was the toad the girl? Maybe she had been cursed to be a toad for the rest of time. How long she been in that form? He didn't like that thought. If she was the girl, then she could be the girl he had argued over with his brothers. Even if she wasn't, she was the kindest person he had ever known. How could she keep fulfilling his requests and never want anything for herself? He had never met someone that selfless. She was always ready to comfort him despite the sadness he now knew she was enduring. Was there anyone else like that in the entire world? Wait a minute, since when did he start considering the toad a person? Not that he minded thinking of her that way. She was more humanlike than animal like.

"Zuko!" Zuko was started at the sound of Jet's voice. He turned to see a swarm of dogs in his brother's carriage. "Brother, where did you find that linen on that dismal road? I couldn't see a settlement on it," Jet asked.

Zuko thought. "Near the swamp, I found a hermit who had it," he lied.

"Well, it doesn't matter," Jet continued. "Because I will win this round."

Zuko chose not to reply. They met up with Aang later and all arrived at the palace together.

* * *

Katara looked at the rain clouds above her. "Great," she said. "Just the thing to cheer me up," she spat.

_It's hard to listen to a hard hard heart  
Beating close to mine_

Katara closed her eyes and huddled down on a rock. "Go ahead!" she shouted her voice shaking. "See what I care! I didn't like him all that much anyway!

"It's not like he loved me anyway! He's just attracted to my body!" Katara let out a harsh sob. "Man, I'm so pathetic."

_  
Pounding up against the stone and steel  
Walls that I won't climb_

"Even if he did love me, I'm still a toad. A miserable little toad. I can't break the spell. I've tried. I'm stuck like this. I'm stuck in an invisible cage."

_  
Sometimes a hurt is so deep deep deep  
You think that you're gonna drown  
Sometimes all I can do is weep weep weep  
With all this rain falling down_

The rain began to fall. Katara tilted her head upward, closing her eyes. Against her flushed, slimy skin, the rain was refreshingly cool. It poured down her face. It felt a little like tears. She pretended they were because it helped her feel better.

Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
But I'm holding on underneath this shroud  
Rain

"At least Zuko isn't seeing me like this. I wouldn't want him to worry about me," Katara whispered sadly. "That is providing he cares.

"Those clouds are really dark," she noticed.

It's hard to know when to give up the fight  
Some things you want will just never be right

"I should just give up on him. It would never work out. He's a Firebender. I'm a Waterbender. We-we're opposites."

_  
It's never rained like it has to night before_

Zuko looked out the window. The rain streamed down it in wide rivers. He could see the mystery girl's, Katara's, face with streams of tears on it. He shut his eyes trying to block out the image.

_  
Now I won't beg you baby  
For something maybe you could never give_

He could hear her asking what the scar was from. His dishonor. All his shame over being second best overwhelmed him. How could he tell her that?

_  
I'm not looking for the rest of your life  
I just want another chance to live  
_

How could he hear her apologizing, saying he didn't have to tell her if he didn't want to? What had she done to him? He rested his forehead against the glass. Why couldn't he get her out of his head?

_  
Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
But I'm holding on underneath this shroud  
Rain _

"It's raining really hard," June noticed. "Katara…" The rain always made her think of that little girl. She missed Katara. "…I'm sorry." A tear slid down June's cheek.

Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
But I'm still in love on underneath this shroud  
Rain

"Zuko," Katara whispered. "No matter what I tell myself, I can't stop loving you."

"Katara," Zuko murmured. "I love you even if you are a toad."

_Strange how hard it rains now  
Rows and rows of big dark clouds  
But I'm still in love on underneath this shroud  
Rain_

_Oooh, rain_

_Ooooh rain_

**

* * *

A/N: Wow, this is turning into a full-fledged musical. It's not my fault, I swear! The characters are forcing me to. Katara has a knife to my throat and Zuko is about to roast me. Heeeeeeeeelp!**

The song is called _Rain_ (in case you couldn't tell by the repetition of the word.). I don't own it. I was listening to my lovey-dovey play list while I wrote this chapter and it came up. I couldn't resist putting it in (it helps that my characters are threatening my life). I love it. I used to remember the artist's name but I'm too lazy to look it up.

You might've noticed I changed the spelling of June's name. This is because I was watching that episode recently and in the credits, I saw they spelled her name like the month. So I changed it.

Yes, I know this is not included in the fairytale. The fairytale never has any sadness in it. But I felt some angst would be very appropriate. I also know the last chapter did not appear in the original story. Yet again, I say I'm adding as I see fit. I'm improvising. Don't be so picky! Otherwise, I'll sic Katara and Zuko on you.

Katara says hi and that she appreciates all you readers. Zuko says he'll roast you if you don't review. Providing you like the chapter, he says. Oh no! June has her Sheershoo breathing down my neck. I'm going to be paralyzed! (Authoress's fingers are freezing up after being hit by the thing's tongue.)

Can you tell I like joking around after writing a sad chapter?


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Last we left our brave and virtuous heroes they were all busy being depressed. But you're probably wondering if I've forgotten the contest. I haven't. I'm just going to drag this out for as long as possible. Bwahahahahahaha!

Oh, if you're wondering how Katara knows Zuko's name, she lived in the Fire Nation almost all of her life. Of course she knows that the scarred prince's name is Zuko!

* * *

Chapter 6

"Zuko, come on," Aang suddenly appeared at Zuko's side. "Father is going to begin the judging."

Zuko walked behind his brother and frowned. Had Aang heard his confession? He hoped not. They entered the throne room and stood before their father. Their father began to attempt to place Jet's dogs one by one into the walnut shell. None of them fit. He proceeded with Aang's horde of dogs. None of them fit either.

Zuko stepped forward and handed his father the hazelnut Katara had given him. "Open it carefully and you will have what you seek," Zuko told him. Zuko watched as his father cracked open the nut and a tiny dog jumped out and barked at the other dogs. The ladies made little sounds amazement and adoration.

"Drown the other dogs!" Ozai commanded. "Zuko, yet again you have proven your worth. However, there is one last test. The most important test. Bring home the fairest wife and you shall be my heir."

Zuko's heart sunk. He wasn't positive the toad was the girl from the window. And he couldn't marry anyone but that toad. He was doomed.

* * *

The three princes set out immediately in search of the most beautiful girls. At the crossroads, Jet and Aang debated following Zuko. But one glance at the road changed their minds. Nothing could be down that road that could help them.

Zuko continued on his journey with a heavy heart. He could either propose to Katara, ask for her help, or turn around and look for someone else, turning his back on his chance for true love. He doubted Katara could help him. Where would she find a girl? She lived in a swamp where no human existed. The only things there were her fellow frogs. Zuko arrived at the little creek and walked to the bank slowly. He collapsed and sighed heavily.

"What is it, Prince Zuko?" Katara asked from across the bank.

Zuko looked up and stared at her, debating. Should he propose to her? Or ask for her help again?

"What? Have I grown a third eye?" Katara asked with a slight smile.

Zuko smiled weakly. "No," he replied. "It doesn't matter what my problem. You could never help me with it. You couldn't solve this even with your magic."

"Well, it can't hurt to tell me. I may yet be able to help," Katara replied.

"My father's last challenge is to find the prettiest bride. The only problem is I'm in love with someone else. But I don't think he would see her the way I see her." Zuko looked up. He looked into Katara's eyes. "I don't think he would see the beautiful woman she is inside."

_

* * *

He knows, Katara realized looking in Zuko's eyes. __He knows who I really am. He knows I'm the girl he saw in the window._Katara realized looking in Zuko's eyes. 

"But I feel I should follow my heart. Even if it costs me the throne. Katara, I don't know if I'm right but I need to ask. In the swamp when I heard the singing, was that you?" Zuko asked her bluntly.

"Yes," Katara admitted. "It was me."

"Then you were talking about yourself."

"Yes," Katara said sorrowfully.

"And you were the girl in the window that I fought with my brothers over." It wasn't a question. He stated.

"Yes," Katara choked out.

"Katara," Zuko got down on one knee and looked down at her. "You know this feels really awkward." He picked up Katara gently and placed her on his saddle. He knelt again. "Katara, will you marry me?"

Katara's blue eyes filled with tears. She covered her face with her hands. Her tears spilled over and flowed down her cheeks. "Why did you have to be so wonderful?" she asked.

"Katara, please—" Zuko began.

"No. I can't, Zuko," Katara began to sob even harder. "Look at me!"

"I am," Zuko replied tenderly. "And do you know what I see?"

"Yes," Katara said miserably. "A horribly ugly little toad who fell in love a prince. A Waterbender who has no right to love you."

"No," Zuko said, taking her face in his hands and wiping away her tears with his thumbs. "I see the most beautiful girl in the world who should take a look in the mirror. Because she's talking nonsense." Then Zuko lowered his head and kissed Katara gently.

That was when Katara realized it. She wasn't a toad anymore. She hadn't been since Zuko proposed to her. He had broken the spell. She wrapped her arms around Zuko's neck and pulled him closer. He deepened the kiss.

_You've found hope  
You've found faith,  
Found how fast she could take it away.  
Found true love,  
Lost your heart.  
Now you don't know who you are. _

...She made it easy,  
Made it free…

…_You will fly and you will crawl;  
God knows even angels fall.  
No such thing as you lost it all.  
God knows even angels fall. _

It's a secret no one tells;  
One day it's heaven, one day it's hell.  
It's no fairy tale;  
Take it from me,  
That's the way it's supposed to be…

**

* * *

A/N: And they finally kiss! I dragged it out. And yes, I changed the fairytale again. Because let's face it. The original fairytale sucks when it comes to her transformation back to a human. This one's so much nicer, cuter, romantic, and touching in my opinion.**

The song is _Even Angels Fall _by Jessica Riddle. I thought it fit Katara and Zuko in this story.

Don't leave! The story's not done yet!

Umm…I think the squirrel outside my house is flirting with me…O.o Or I could be imagining things.

I'm so innocent. I get all giddy writing about a kiss. A _kiss,_ for goodness sake! Naïve authoress slaps herself to try to rid herself of giddiness. Doesn't work out. Beats herself over the head with a shoe. Aah, that's better.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I can't believe it. It's the final chapter. How sad!

On a brighter note, I think the squirrel that was flirting with me got run over. XD

* * *

Chapter 7

Katara rested her head on Zuko's chest as they leaned up against a tree.

"You know I've been in love with you ever since I saw you in that window?" Zuko asked.

"Yes," Katara smiled. "You know when I fell in love with you?"

"When?"

"When you took that piece of linen I gave you, and thanked me as you tried not to laugh," Katara laughed.

"What? You could tell I was trying not to laugh?" Zuko asked in alarm.

"Yes. And you left without saying goodbye because you didn't think you could not laugh a second time," Katara replied, hitting the nail on the head.

"How did you know that?" Zuko asked.

"It's what I would have done," Katara grinned.

"You know we're going to have to go back to the palace sometime," Zuko brought up.

Katara looked over her shoulder. "Not just yet, though," she told him as she turned around and kissed him.

* * *

Zuko and Katara rode in triumphantly on his faithful steed. Well, actually they didn't. They rode quietly into town. The two entered the palace to find it overrun with beautiful women being assisted from carriages by Zuko's brothers and their footmen. Katara shrunk against Zuko.

"Zuko, I'm not so sure about this. I'm scared," she whispered to him, turning her worried gaze to him.

"I'll be right there the entire time. Trust me," he kissed her temple.

"But look at them!" she waved a hand at the other women. "They're all Firebenders. I'm a Waterbender. I stand out like a sore thumb!"

"Who says standing out is a bad thing?" Zuko asked reasonably. He dismounted and then helped Katara down. "Come on. I want to show you something," he took her hands.

"But what about the judging?" Katara protested.

"It'll be a while before it begins," Zuko said.

Katara reluctantly followed Zuko. He stopped and turned to face her. "Okay. Now, close your eyes," he barely repressed a grin.

"You better not try to pull anything," Katara warned him.

"Are your eyes closed?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, no peeking." Zuko began to lead her gently.

"Can I open them?"

"No."

"Now?" Katara asked, her lips parting in a smile.

"Okay, open them!" Zuko burst out.

Katara slowly opened her eyes to find herself looking at the most beautiful garden. At her feet, a pond full of fish rested. "Zuko, it's beautiful," Katara whispered in awe.

Zuko only grinned and moved closer. Iroh let the bush's branch fall back into place, leaving the two lovers alone.

* * *

When Zuko led Katara into the throne room, the whole room stirred in awe. Despite her racial differences, the courtiers could not deny she was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. Married men were privately wishing they were Zuko.

"Zuko, you have won the last contest. You have proven your worth. You're a very lucky man to have such a lovely bride," Ozai congratulated his son. "Drown the other women in the river."

The entire court gaped at their king. He had just ordered the execution of a hundred young, eligible women.

"No, you can't," Katara blurted out. "That's not fair!"

Zuko silently told Katara not to go there.

"What?" Ozai leaned forward, unfamiliar with resistance.

"Those women did nothing wrong! Besides," Katara began shrewdly, "if you drown them you really only hurt your country by decreasing the number of women who can bear you sons to increase your army. Please, your majesty, reconsider before you do such a horrible thing."

Ozai was stonily silent. His brother spoke up. "Wise and beautiful. Prince Zuko chose wisely."

Ozai pinned his brother with a glare. Iroh was not intimidated though. "She brings up a good point, my brother."

Seeing that no one else in the room wanted this, Ozai gave in. "Fine. They can live."

**

* * *

**

**A/N: **And yet again, I use creative license to modify the story. It's almost over. I think I'm gonna cry.


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue

Twenty years later

"Katara? Where are you?" Zuko asked as he entered the gardens.

"Over here," Katara's voice called to Zuko.

He followed it to find his wife sitting by the pond playing with water.

"And what are you doing?" he asked with a smile.

"Nothing," she replied as she accepted a kiss.

"Really?" he grinned.

"Where are the kids?" he asked. "I don't see them."

"Asleep," Katara informed him.

"Te marchaste sin palabras, cerrando la puerta,  
justo cuando te pedía, un poco más.  
El miedo te alejó del nido, sin una respuesta,  
dejando un corazón herido, dejándome atrás.

Y ahora me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir.

Entre tus papeles descubrí, una carta,  
solo en líneas apretadas, frases sin razón.  
Dices que el motivo fue la falta de aire,  
si siempre te dejé ser libre, sin una condición.

Y ahora me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir.

Dime que no es verdad, que voy a despertar,  
cerca de tu piel, igual que hasta ayer.

Porque me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
a que vuelvas de nuevo aquí,  
junto a mí, con tus besos.

Es que me muero de amor si no estás,  
me muero y no puedo esperar,  
necesito tenerte aquí, junto a mí,  
sin tu amor no puedo seguir," Katara sang with Zuko's arms around her.

The End


End file.
